Asked if he was aware of Percoco's outside consulting deals, Cuomo said Monday, “Joe left state service and went into the private sector. He consulted for my campaign. I knew he might be accepting consulting arrangements with other companies. But beyond that, no.”

Cuomo said it is “totally allowable” for people who leave state government to work in the private sector and represent private sector companies.

Cuomo said he had a conversation with Percoco before he left his state government position to handle the governor’s re-election campaign about the possibility that Percoco would work with other clients, but also said Percoco never told him whether he had in fact done such work. And Cuomo said he did not ask Percoco about what other clients he may have consulted for while he was working on the campaign.

Cuomo called the situation “deeply troubling.”

“Joe, and his family, his wife and his kids I know very very well,” Cuomo said.

“Joe worked for my father. That’s how far he goes back. And this is just a terrible situation for him ... I don’t know another word for it,” he said.

Cuomo also said he had ordered an internal investigation, parallel to the U.S. Attorney’s inquiry, which is being headed by Bart Schwartz, a former federal prosecutor.

“I think it’s very important that the facts come out, because right now we have a lot of questions, a lot of speculation, but we have very few facts. I’ve ordered an internal inquiry by one of the best criminal investigators that exists, Bart Schwartz ... He’s going to do a full internal review, find out all the facts so we know exactly what we’re talking about. It’s also important for me to be able to say to the people of the state of New York that the Buffalo Billion ... is being run well, and their tax dollars are being protected. So the internal inquiry will also serve that purpose,” Cuomo said.

Cuomo stopped short of saying whether or not his former aide and one of his closest allies had engaged in any improper conduct.

“I’m saying, I know Joe Percoco, for many years, and he is a good man, and I would be shocked if he did anything wrong,” Cuomo said.

“But, let’s get the facts and then we can all make our own decision,” he told reporters Monday evening after accepting an award at an Association for a Better New York event at Rockefeller Center.

“You know, I was attorney general for four years. We did a lot of investigations. And I’ve learned the hard way, that sometimes what it looks like is not what it turns out to be,” he said.

“I’m doing everything I can to get the facts as quickly as I can, because nobody wants to know the facts more than I do,” he added.

Cuomo said he first became aware of the U.S. Attorney’s investigation last week, and has subsequently spoken with Percoco to find out how he is doing. The governor said Percoco and his family are “distraught.”